Democrats Debate Extending Bush Tax Cuts
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The tax cuts former President George W. Bush pushed through in 2001 and 2003 are set to expire this year, but given the state of the economy, Democrats are reconsidering allowing that to happen, reports The New York Times.
It looks certain that the tax cuts will be extended for families making under $250,000 a year. Things get contentious when discussing the two to three percent of Americans who make more than that.
"By letting the Bush tax cuts for those in the upper income categories expire and boosting their capital gains and dividend tax rates back to 20 percent, the Obama administration expects to generate about $678 billion over 10 years."
But Republicans and some conservative Democrats want to extend the current, lower rates for upper-income Americans, saying the economy can't afford to tax top earners more. Democrats counter that tax cuts for the wealthy runs contrary to Republican calls to balance the federal deficit. In fact, the same senators clamoring for a tax cut extension are the same ones who stalled the extension of unemployment benefits for months, specifically because they were concerned about the deficit.
